Stale Popcorn

The Nines isn’t actually an easy movie for me to review. It’s not like reviewing something like Resident Evil Extinction or some other “popcorn-tastic”, mindless, flick. And to be honest with you, I don’t actually know how much sense this review is going to make – but then when you consider the movie it’s for, maybe that’s not a bad thing.

OK, let’s get the “plot” stuff out of the way. The Nines is made up of three interconnected half-hour stories, each starring Ryan Reynolds, Hope Davis and Melissa McCarthy. And they play different characters in each segment.

In the first Reynolds is an actor under house arrest, in the second he is the subject of a reality TV show about a writer trying to get his TV show pilot made (who also happens to own the house that the actor from Part One is in house arrest in) and in the third he plays a father stranded in the woods with his wife and child. Which just might be the TV show Pilot from Part Two. Throw in an MMO and existentialism and a musical number or two and the whole thing adds up to a very strange exercise in movie viewing.

Ryan Reynolds, who I do like as an actor, is wonderful in the three main roles that he plays here and it’s nice to see him play someone who isn’t just a goof ball! All three of them are completely different characters, but they are also linked, and he carries it off superbly making each of them feel distinct in their own right but at the same time the same. His acting is never over the top in this and he really does prove himself as an actor of quite a lot of talent.

Hope Davis and Melissa McCarthy are also superb. Hope Davis’ characters come across as the “villains” of the three sections, and she does bring quite a lot of menace to the roles she plays, but at the end, when you get the final “twist”, it puts a totally different feeling and aspect to her performances which was there all the time. And Melissa McCarthy gives the movie a much needed heart and soul without which the movie as a whole wouldn’t have the same kind of impact and effect as it does.

So why, if I enjoyed it so much, do I feel like it’s so hard to review? Mainly because it’s one of those movies where part of the enjoyment comes from the “mystery” surrounding the three stories and how and why they are linked. All of the hints are there right from the beginning and if you are paying attention you’ll probably figure it out well before the end of the movie but I don’t want my review to spoil that aspect of the movie, so I really do find it difficult to talk about it!

The movie does start out as a bit of a comedy, and it is quite funny, but by the end of the first section it shifts into a thriller and the transition not only feels perfectly natural but also adds to the movies overall effect.

Suffice it to say that John August, screenwriter of movies like Titan: AE and Big Fish, has done a wonderful job with this, his first feature length directorial effort (which he also wrote) and if you are a fan of thought provoking movies then this is most certainly one to watch. The three different sections are totally different in feel and look, but then by the end they make up a complete movie and one which I really did enjoy very much.

Special Features

• Commentary with John August and Ryan Reynolds: A very interesting and entertaining chat track, and for once the two participants are actually together! Joking aside, this is well worth a listen as it does highlight a lot of nuances of the movie that you might miss on the initial viewing.
• Interview with John August: John August talks about his original ideas for the movie, directing his first feature, etc etc. Pretty interesting.
• Interview with Melissa McCarthy: Melissa McCarthy talks about meeting John August for the first time, working with him on this and the short film God.
• ‘God’ Short Movie: This is an entertaining short film that sees Melissa McCarthy as a woman with a literal phoneline to God, available with or without commentary by John August.
• Deleted Scenes with optional commentary with John August and Editor Douglas Crise: These deleted scenes are interesting enough, but none of them would have really added anything to the movie, and John August and Douglas Crise talk very candidly about there exclusion from the finished movie.
• Summing up The Nines: Various cast and crew talk about the movie and what it means to them. This is a standard “Talking Heads” feature piece really, but it’s still fairly interesting.
• Script to Screen: Literally this extra compares the script, storyboards and finished scenes all on screen at the same time. Interesting, if you like to see how things evolve from the script to actual filming.

I really did enjoy this movie, and I am going to be watching it again very soon (which, considering how many DVDs I own and am not getting the chance to watch is probably a pretty big recommendation in iteself!). It was one of those movies that I enjoyed on so many different levels, and the extras on the DVD are also very entertaining. As a complete package this DVD is well worth at the very least a rent but if you do like an “intelligent” movie then I would really recommend adding this to your DVD collection.

DVD Release Details:

The Nines
Dir: John August
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hope Davis, Melissa McCarthy, Elle Fanning, Dahlia Salem, David Denman, Octavia Spencer, Ben Falcone
Running Time: 1 hour 39 min (approx)
Release Date: 31st March 2008
RRP: £15.99
Official Website: www.lookforthenines.co.uk

Posted on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 at 10:29 am under DVD Reviews (R2) by Gareth.
Tags:DVD Review R2

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